It was 1988 or there about – when you go back that far it doesn’t really matter if you get your date exactly right. I was attending a trench rescue class put on by KU Fire & Rescue. To say the training was bad is an misrepresentation of the word “bad” – it was worse than bad.

For starters the ropes and rigging was all tossed together in military hand-me-down bags – with no rhyme or reason. Before we could get started on the training we had to sort out and untangle the mess. Then there were the props. These were something like what a deranged high school industrial arts student put together.

Flash forward to March 6, 2013 – today – in Stafford County. KU Fire & Rescue put on Grain Engulfment training with their new State-of-Art prop trailer. To say it was good is a misrepresentation of the word “good” – it was better than good.

KU worked cooperatively with numerous industry representatives to pay for the Grain Engulfment prop – a total cost of over $150,000. It consists of two submersible entrapments with the ability to transfer grain back and forth between the two with an auger. Then there’s a large capacity generator that allows the entire operation to work independent of external power.

Another part of the prop that’s independent of the trailer is a corrugated grain bin panel holder that’s set up for breach cutting. The entire prop is built with numerous safe guards in place. Storage bins on each end of the trailer allow the Grain Engulfment prop to be fully self contained.

If you are a Kansas emergency responder and haven’t had the opportunity to use the Grain Engulfment prop – you need to do so at your earliest opportunity. If you aren’t from Kansas – you need to see if KU would let your state training agency copy this one.